Just Listen
by partlysunny
Summary: And now she knows for sure that she isn't dreaming because her mind isn't this cruel/ Dominique, Teddy, and just one last night.


**Just Listen**

Dominique knows she's dreaming the moment she opens her front door and finds Teddy dripping rainwater all over the welcome mat.

"No!" he shouts when she's about to slam the door and go back to sleep. "No, don't—!"

"Don't _what?_" Dominique snaps. She's trying to close the door again but Teddy's jammed his foot in the way and now, even her own door won't cooperate with her. She just leaves it and walks into the house, padding into the living room with bare feet, and collapses onto the loveseat, knowing there's no way to keep him out so she should just see what he wants. And now she knows for sure that she isn't dreaming because her mind isn't this cruel.

He sheds his sopping wet cloak and dries it with a quick spell before draping it on the back of the armchair. And Dominique doesn't want to look at him for too long so she takes a couple of quick glances and then averts her gaze to her hands. Teddy looks tired, sad—not at all like how a man mere hours from his wedding should look.

"Sit," she says, sighing, ushering to the armchair he's standing by.

He lowers himself onto the armchair, and for a second, their eyes meet. Dominique tears her gaze away from him and hitches that wall she's built against him just a little bit higher, in case he finds a way over it.

"I—I just wanted to say something," he says after a full minute of silence which she's spent trying to stop her heart from breaking her ribs.

"At three in the morning?" she asks. She wants to inject a tiny bit of condescension into her tone so she could sound a little like herself but instead she just sounds tired.

"Dom," he says, almost resignedly, although she doesn't understand what he's resigned himself to, and she will never tell anyone that his use of her nickname makes her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Teddy," she says, regretting saying his name immediately because her voice breaks in the middle. "Do you really think three in the morning is the appropriate time to be discussing this?"

"Do you even know what I want to discuss?" he counters easily.

"Of course, I do," she hisses. Her blood is rushing furiously through her veins, she can hear it in her ears. And it isn't fair, it just isn't fair, that after spending _months _pushing him out of her head, he only needs to be in her sight for all of three minutes before she's back at square one. "You know what, save your breath and run home to Victoire, you'll need all your energy for the big day."

"Dom," he says, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, and she notices suddenly that his hair is pitch black. "Just listen."

And Dominique just listens, because he's Teddy, the only boy she's wanted nothing more than to just listen to ever since before she can remember.

"I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow, er, I mean today," he mutters, sinking into the cushions of the armchair. Outside, there's a clap of thunder. "You're coming, right?"

She shrugs nonchalantly, although she hasn't decided yet, but she doesn't want him to know that.

"It's just that, uh, I wanted to make sure, um, that the water is back in its river between us."

She blinks.

He springs forward in his seat suddenly, startling her. "Dom, you know you're my best friend, no matter what. No matter what happened, or happens. Even after the wedding, you'll always be my best friend."

A beat passes by in silence, and Teddy can't possibly know that during this moment, this infinitesimal beat of a heart, Dominique makes a decision that will change the game forever. She can tell him to stay, to forget the wedding, to not marry Victoire, and she knows that he will listen to her because Teddy might not even know it, but that's secretly why he's here: to give her a chance to convince him to stay. But for once, she lets go of vanity, she lets go of selfishness, she lets go of herself and decides to help Teddy because sitting there in her armchair, his hair dripping rainwater all over the upholstery, Teddy has never been more vulnerable than he is now, a man trying to right some wrongs before he turns the page (on her) and begins a new chapter in his life.

"Of course," she says, lying through her teeth, swallowing back the urge to shake him and shout: _We were never best friends! Best friends don't sleep with each other! Best friends don't tell you they love you in the middle of the night when they think you're asleep! Best friends don't marry your sisters and just leave you there to pick up the pieces yourself!_

Dominique clears her throat and tries again. "Don't worry, Ted. The water is in its river between us."

And he smiles in relief, because Teddy has always been easily fooled and her strength, however false, is his. He gets up and puts his cloak on and pulls her into his arms one last time. While she's trying not to take whiffs of his scent, she thinks she hears him whisper, "Thank you," but she's not really sure and before she can ask, he detaches himself from her and is off, out the door and into the pouring rain.

Dominique watches until he disappears from view, then she closes that door forever.

**-FIN-**

**A/N: This fic is in response to the 3AM Challenge over at the HPFC forum.**


End file.
